The European season comes to an end in Italy this weekend as the Formula One circus makes its annual visit to the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Steeped in history, Monza has hosted the Italian Grand Prix every year since the championship’s inception in 1950 barring the 1984 race, which was held at Imola. The grand prix is the home race for Ferrari, whose loyal fans – the Tifosi – dominate the grandstands across the course of the weekend and the team boasts the best record at the circuit, having won the race eighteen times. However, quite whether the Scuderia can end its barren spell this weekend remains to be seen.

Italian Grand Prix Talking Points

Seb chases knock-out blow in championship…

Having won last time out in Belgium, Sebastian Vettel is currently sitting pretty with a forty-six point lead, and it is hard to see the German driver not winning a fourth consecutive title. At the site of his first win though, Vettel will be keen on surpassing the fifty point mark – equivalent to two race wins – heading into his favored Asian leg of the calendar.

…while Ferrari hope to impress at home

Fernando Alonso appears to be the only driver who can stop Vettel in 2013, and the Spanish driver has openly admitted that anything less than a win this weekend would probably end his title hopes. However, with Ferrari bouncing back to form in Belgium, the team could yet be on the cusp of a resurgence.

Ricciardo hopes to validate Red Bull selection

After the worst kept secret in F1 was finally confirmed on Monday, Daniel Ricciardo begins life at Monza knowing that he has just eight races remaining with Toro Rosso. In this time though, he must prove to his critics why Red Bull picked him to replace Mark Webber, and the Australian will be hoping to live up to the hype and not suffer a downturn in form à la Sergio Perez following his McLaren confirmation in 2012.

Questions surrounding Raikkonen’s future persist

Having missed out on the Red Bull seat, Kimi Raikkonen now appears to have two options in F1 for 2013: remain at Lotus, whose financials problems are becoming more and more apparent, or move back to Ferrari. The Iceman needs to think about what direction he wants the rest of his career to take, but for now the questions will remain.

Rain? Surely not!

Monza traditionally bathes in warm Italian sunshine across the course of the GP weekend, yet rain is forecast for the race on Sunday. Although it does not come close to the utter downpour that marred the race in 2008, the weather could yet play a part in the championship at Monza. Then again, we said the same at Spa…